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Psalm 118:20

This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous will enter into it.

18The LORD has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous will enter into it.
21I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.
22The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
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← Psalm 118:19Psalm 118:21 →
Notice

The gate belongs to YHWH, and the words “the righteous will enter into it” give approaching him both hope and weight.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What do you notice about the righteous entering between the declarations of thanks in verses 19 and 21?

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What does the phrase “the righteous” bring to mind as you think about approaching God?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

7 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 26:2Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter: the one which keeps faith.Both passages speak of gates through which the righteous enter, with Isaiah describing the nation that keeps faith.
Revelation 21:24–27The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.Both passages describe entry, though the psalm names the righteous and Revelation describes kings bringing the nations’ glory and honor in.
Psalm 24:7Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.Both passages name gates and entry, though Psalm 118 names righteous entrants while Psalm 24 announces the King of glory.
Psalm 24:3–4Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place?Both passages concern approaching the LORD’s place, with one naming who enters and the other asking who may stand there.
Revelation 22:14–15Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.Both passages connect entering through gates with righteousness, expressed in Revelation as doing God’s commandments.
Psalm 24:9The LORD’s gate in Psalm 118 and the everlasting doors in Psalm 24 mark entrances associated with God.
Isaiah 35:8–10A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called “The Holy Way”. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the Way. Wicked …Both passages connect access with holiness: the righteous enter the LORD’s gate, while the Holy Way excludes the unclean.
Where this verse fits

Praise and worship. gratitude. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about worship →What the Bible says about gratitude →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read Psalm 118:18–21 aloud before giving thanks

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Encouragement

The worshiper comes to this gate after hardship and answered prayer. There is room for thanksgiving after suffering, and the gate belongs to YHWH.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 118:20. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 118 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).